21st Century Approaches to Preserving Italian-Canadian Narratives

October 13, 2016 at 4:40 pm

Sixth National Conference in London, ON, October 14-15
21st Century Approaches to Preserving Italian-Canadian Narratives: Engagement, Identification, Sharing
“Italians lived in London (ON), Sarnia, Ottawa, Montreal, the Maritimes, Vancouver and Calgary!” Yes, they did and do and in places throughout Canada, apart from Toronto.
“Importantly, Italian-Canadians contributed as much to their communities as their communities influenced and changed their lives”, says Caroline Di Cocco, ICAP President. “Now it is up to Italian-Canadian communities throughout Canada to stand up and commit to finding and sharing their histories and stories.”
ICAP is a national network that reaches out to engage such communities across Canada to connect them with Italian-Canadian history experts, public archivists and community organizers; to train and educate communities in gathering, organizing and sharing their history; as well as, to share news, events and relevant models and experiences nationally.
ICAP’s Sixth National Conference, October 14-15, brings together community activists, scholars, archivists, artists, students and people interested in the ICAP model. On Friday, The Marconi Club will host the Conference opening and AGM and offer a dinner and artistic evening program open to the public, featuring writer/poet Gianna Patriarca, a video on Italian Canadians in London and a screening of the Paul Tana film on discovering and preserving a 1960s Montreal television show, Ricordati di noi. Also, Bruno Ramirez and Gabriele Scardellato will launch their new edition of Italians in Canada: Yesterday and Today
On Saturday at the University of Western Ontario, Modern Languages, Arts and Humanities Bldg, 3B15, 1151 Richmond St., in the Keynote Session at 9am, Michael Moir, the York University Archivist and Jonathan Vance, Distinguished University Professor (UWO) will speak about making decisions to further research and scholarship be it institutional or personal. Presenters from across the country will discuss models for internship programs, bridging classroom-community with teaching innovations in schools and universities and offering various tools and tips for gathering oral histories. “By sharing and focusing on how our community and scholars have worked together in London, wehopetoencourageotherItalian-Canadiancommunitiestoactquicklybeforetheirhistoryandnarrativesarelostforever”,saysProf.AntonioCalcagno,King’sUniversityCollege,London.
“Let’s get our Italian-Canadian history out of shoeboxes and our basements!” says President Di Cocco. “Let’s make them accessible to everyone, to future generations and to researchers whowilltellourItalian-Canadianstoriesinternationally.”
Register for the conference at https://icap.ca/2016-conference/ For more information contact:
Caroline Di Cocco, ICAP President, carolinedicocco@gmail.com Prof. Antonio Calcagno, acalcagn@uwo.ca

The ICAP session at the Canadian Society for Italian Studies

May 6, 2016 at 2:55 pm

The ICAP session at the Canadian Society for Italian Studies will be held in Carr Hall, 403, University of Toronto on Sunday, May 15, 2016 from 9:00 to 10:30. Those who attend must be registered for the annual CSIS conference. For registration and additional information, please visit https://canadiansocietyforitalianstudies.camp7.org/2016-Conference
ICAP, National and International Perspectives
Session Chair, Caroline Di Cocco, ICAP President, Sarnia-Lambton
Angela Clarke, Italian Cultural Institute, Vancouver, "Whose History is it anyway? Preserving, Sharing and Interpreting the History of Vancouver’s Italian Community." <angelac@iccvancouver.ca>
Cristina Caracchini, University of Western Ontario, “Progetti di collaborazione tra universitàe ICAP: il caso dell’italiano a western. <ccaracch@uwo.ca>
Pietro Pirani, University of Western Ontario, "ICAP e la comunitàitaliana di London: sfide e progetti.”<ppirani2@uwo.ca>

Letter From The President & 2014 Newsletter

February 12, 2015 at 4:42 pm

Dear Members and Friends of ICAP:
Happy New Year from the ICAP Board of Directors and best wishes in 2015 for much joy, happiness and success to each of you. As president of ICAP, it is my pleasure to send to you the highlights of the Italian-Canadian Archives Project (ICAP) for 2014. Much was accomplished and we have a great deal to celebrate but there is still a great deal to be done. I am confident that by continuing to pool our talents, and energies, we will build on our success and meet the responsibility of preserving and making accessible the stories and documents of the Italian-Canadian presence across Canada.
I must thank the Founding Members, the current board of directors, members and in particular the executive committee for their ongoing support and active participation in ICAP. Thank you to our collaborators, partners and advisors who have all contributed to this success and we look forward to working together in the years ahead.
Warmest regards,
Caroline Di Cocco
ICAP’S FOURTH NATIONAL CONFERENCE
The official ICAP launch coinciding with the Fourth National Conference and AGM hosted by the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau was a major event for our young organization. 80 participants attended from across Canada to hear about and discuss ways for “Reaching Across” distance, time communities and organizations to preserve the Italian-Canadian story. The presentations and discussions included the introduction of ICAP’s new website, created by Nicholas Buccheri. Dr. Dean Oliver, Director of Research and Dr. Mauro Peressini, Curator, both from the Canadian Musuem of History, encouraged the work of ICAP and looked to ICAP as a possible model for the museum's outreach to community groups.
ICAP BOARD MEMBERS FOR 2014/2016
ICAP is a working board and is blessed with having a team of amazing and talented individual members. The new board members for 2014-2016 are:
Stanislao Carbone (Winnipeg, MB)
Maria Cioni (Toronto, ON)
Angela Clarke (Vancouver, BC)
Gabriella Colussi Arthur (Toronto, ON)
Ariella Dal Farra Hostetter (Ottawa, ON)
Giulia De Gasperi (Summerside, PEI)
Caroline Di Cocco (Sarnia, ON)
Konrad Eisenbichler (Toronto, ON)
Nancy Marrelli (Montreal, PQ)
Sam Migliore (Surrey, BC)
Sandra Parmegiani (Guelph, ON)
Mauro Peressini (Montreal, PQ)
Bruno Ramirez (Montreal, PQ)
Gabriele Scardellato (Toronto, ON)
Olga Zorzi Pugliese (Toronto, ON)
JOIN NOW: We encourage all those interested in the ICAP mission, to become a member, to disseminate information about ICAP, contribute to its mission and support this important endeavour. Encourage your friends and colleagues to join! Moreover, you can join and follow ICAP’s initiatives on our website athttps://icap.ca/ICAP.
RECENT ICAP NETWORK OUT-REACH
A number of groups across the country have become engaged in preserving the Italian-Canadian story. ICAP experts have:
Assisted Famèe Furlane Toronto in forming a committee to focus on organizing the preservation of their history.
Engaged the interest and subsequent support of the York University Archive in archiving 110 boxes of Dr. Angelo Principe Italian-Canadian Newspaper collection.
Supported and facilitated a group in London, Ontario to discuss and formulate a strategy to document their Italian-Canadian
history.
Furthered Sarnia, Ontario’s project to identify collections in their area.
Organized and facilitated discussions with the Order of Italo-Canadians (Ottawa) concerning the preservation of the organization's working papers.
Encouraged Vancouver community groups to preserve their story.
ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA ACKNOWLEDGES ICAP
Canada’s most prestigious academic body, The Royal Society of Canada, as acknowledged the role of ICAP in preserving the Italian-Canadian Story. The report titled: "The Future Now: Canada’s Libraries, Archives, and Public Memory" presented by the Society's Expert Panel on Libraries and Archives notes:
"Models can be envisioned where mainstream archives and communities assume distributed custody of the communities’ memory texts. For example, the Archif Menywod Cymru/Women’s Archive of Wales rescues material evidence of women’s lives and experience in Wales and places these materials in existing repositories (archives, museums, libraries) where they will be documented and preserved to professional standards, and made accessible to the public. Operating along the same lines is the Italian-Canadian Archives Project (ICAP), a network of researchers and organizations that reach out to communities across Canada and connect them with experts in Italian-Canadian history and public archives. ICAP encourages families, communities and organizations to share with local archives or museums relevant historical items, including documents, letters, and photos that capture the experiences of Italians in Canada. [emphasis added] In small as well as large settings, the dedication of archivists to disciplinary standards and to creating online national resources expresses the essence of professional commitment. ..."
Congratulations and a heartfelt thanks to everyone for the hard and dedicated work!
FUNDING ICAP’s WORK
We have funded the ICAP initiative thanks to the generosity of the Mariano A. Elia Chair for Italian-Canadian studies, York University, the Italo-Canadian Cultural Club, the Centre for Italian Studies, Thunder Bay and the generosity of individual board members. The costs for conference venues in Thunder Bay, Toronto, Montreal and Gatineau were donated by each hosting institution in those cities.
Many individuals who have done work and travelled for ICAP have done so as volunteers and donated their time and expenses. We are especially grateful for this generosity.
Now however, a fundraising strategy initiated by Ariella Hostetter is being acted upon. The ICAP budget for 2015 is $21,000. This is base point cost for insurance, legal and accounting, web-site development, AGM/Conference/workshop and office expenses. We have been approaching possible donors to request donations.
PERFORMIGRATIONS, AN EU PROJECT WITH ICAP SUPPORT “THE TERRITORY IS THE PEOPLE”:
This is the foundation of the Performigrations project and a principle incorporated in ICAP actions. Dr. Angela Clarke, Curator of the Italian Institute of Culture in Vancouver and ICAP board member, is developing and hosting a Performigrations event in Vancouver in August 2015.
The ICAP national network of members will promote the event in their various communities and via the ICAP website to encourage Italian-Canadian communities across Canada to bridge with other cultures to discuss the Performigrations’ themes installation: old/new citizens and immigrants commenting on their experiences to contribute to making the “territory” (mobility) and responding to change and migration as an evolution of identity across Canada and Europe.
The Chinese community and First Nations representatives will join with the Italian-Canadian community in Vancouver for this intercultural event to crystallize these themes in their locales and throughout Canada via the ICAP network. ICAP will also provide support funding for the event through fundraising initiatives in various parts of Canada.
ICAP supports the intercultural event planned by Dr. Clarke to complement the Performigrations art installation in which citizens and immigrants will discuss cultural and civic memory, sometimes harsh, as factors contributing to the knowledge that we in Canada benefit from our diversity and that this diversity is our Canadian history. ICAP members will join the opening of the Performigrations event and then hold its fifth Annual Conference in Vancouver on 28 - 29 August.
IMPORTANT UPCOMING EVENTS
CSIS AND ICAP IN SORRENTO, ITALY 21-24 JUNE 2015
As we have done in the last 4 years, ICAP will have a presence at the Canadian Society of Italian Studies (CSIS) annual meeting, this year being held in Sorrento, Italy. For the Sorrento 2015 session, ICAP is organizing a four-person panel presentation.
SAVE THE DATE:
THE 2015 ICAP AGM/5th NATIONAL
CONFERENCE/WORKSHOP WILL BE HELD IN VANCOUVER,
28 - 29 AUGUST 2015.